Key benefits of the new XcelLine VTM 3 tissue machine at Little Rapids Shawano mill include an improvement in paper quality and increased production capacity, since the new machine will now be producing at a speed of 1,800 meters per minute.

Nov. 9, 2017 - Voith Paper announced the successful start-up in October of the new XcelLine VTM 3 tissue machine it supplied to tissue and specialty paper manufacturer Little Rapids Corporation. The new machine replaced the company's old PM 3 at its Shawano production facility in Wisconsin (USA).

According to Voith, VTM 3 went online six days ahead of the contract schedule, thereby achieving a total plant downtime of just 30 days from paper to paper, that is, between dismantling the previous equipment and erecting and starting-up the new machine. Besides this outstanding achievement, the second jumbo roll of tissue paper already provided marketable quality and the machine reached its maximum operating speed during its first week in service.

Besides the new XcelLine tissue paper machine and its auxiliary equipment — not counting the Yankee cylinder, which has been reused from the old machine — Voith's scope of supply also included stock preparation and approach flow systems, a steam box, a gas hood, and a mist removal and dust reduction system. The order included Voith's automation package, comprised of the DCS and MCS systems, as well as field services.

Voith noted that the project's key benefits include an improvement in paper quality and increased production capacity, since the new machine will now be producing at a speed of 1,800 meters per minute.

“We are extremely proud of the teamwork demonstrated by all parties involved to safely execute the rebuild within a very compressed timeframe,” said Ron Thiry, Vice President and General Manager at Little Rapids Corporation. “We are also encouraged by the performance that we are seeing at this early stage of the machine's start-up ramp and optimistic that this investment will provide additional capabilities and quality enhancements that our customers value.”

About Little Rapids Corporation

With headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Green Bay and Shawano, Wisconsin, Little Rapids Corporation was founded by Charles Egan in 1947 and remains a family-owned business. The company's core product lines serve the medical and beauty market segments, flexographic printing for a variety of packaging markets, and tissue, MG paper, and wet crepe paper for the specialty paper market.

Voith Paper, a division of the Voith Group, offers new machines for the production of graphic papers, board and packaging grades, specialty or tissue papers. The company also offers rebuilds, and pulp and paper related products and services. For more information, visit www.voithpaper.com.